32 Thoughts: The Podcast - A Conversation with Bedard and Neighbours

Episode Date: December 31, 2024

Live from Wrigley Field in Chicago, Kyle Bukauskas and Elliotte Friedman talk to Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jake Neighbours of the St. Louis Blues ahead of today's Winter Classic. Email the podcast at [e-mail] or call the Thought Line at 1-833-311-3232 and leave us a voicemailThis podcast was produced and mixed by Dominic Sramaty and hosted by Elliotte Friedman & Kyle Bukauskas.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates

Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin' town Welcome to 32 Thoughts, the podcast presented by the GMC Sierra AT4X getting you set for the 2025 Winter Classic from iconic Wrigley Field in Chicago. That is where we are right now, Elliot Friedman and producer Dom Schramatti. In fact, we're out in the left field bleachers, section 506, row 13 fringe.

Actually, apparently, this is where the phrase term bleacher bum first originated. You're a Cubs fan. You should know that. I am a Cubs fan. I did not know that. I am remembering my last trip to the bleacher seats in Wrigley Field, which was the day after I got engaged. Wow. Or as I like to say, the second worst day of Steph's life, defeated only by the day we got married. Right.

That was more aptly named. Well, that's got to be nice memories, at least for you. I'm not sure about Steph. But apparently, because as you know, for the longest time, they didn't have lights here at Wrigley Field. 1988 is when they finally came into play, so it was always day games here. And so the fans that would sit out here and the bleachers that were here all the time that was kind of the suggestion back then well they're always here during the day watching Cubs games surely they can't have any work they're a bunch

of bums they're the bleacher well you know what that was that was Lee Elia who was the manager of the Cubs and I believe you can find that rant on the internet I believe it's on the interwebs. People have kept that recording of him trashing the Chicago fans. I'm trying to imagine what social media would be like if somebody did that today. Right, right. Well, that's why they have the baskets here now because they used to run, the fans would run along the edges of the bottom of the bleachers here. They would do races during the games too.

This is a great ballpark. It's the second time obviously the Winter Classic's been here. You were here in 2009. I was here in 2009. Aside from the Blue Jays, my favorite baseball team is the Cubs. So I love coming here. I love the city of Chicago. Just the two days that we've been here so far, I remember everything I love about it. And I cannot come to this ballpark often enough. Right.

Well, and for Dom and I, this is our first times in this stadium. And we've been googly-eyed since we walked in here a couple of hours ago. So this is a special edition interview pod that we have. We don't do it very often, but we've been fortunate to get a number of guests since we've been here in Chicago, and a couple of great ones here lined up for you as we get set for the outdoor game a little later on today. Elliot, anything you want to chime in before we get to it? Well, we first, as we should should mention that hockey fans will remember last year when Conor Bedard began his NHL career,

like his first road trip came through Canada, and he did everything. And people were asking, is this too much to ask this guy to do already? And here today, like obviously he's the star of this winter classic between the Blackhawks and the Blues. And we spoke to him briefly after they finished their practice. And, you know, we didn't get a lot of time, but you appreciate the time

because from us, he was going to do TNT and he was going to do a bunch of other things. So, like, the one thing about Bedard I absolutely think he deserves a lot of credit for is he tries to give everybody time. And he knows what's asked of him at an event like this one for is he tries to give everybody time and he knows what's asked of him at an event like this one and he tries to give it so you know it's it's not a 30 minute sit down which is good news for him he doesn't have to talk to us for that long but he's going from place to place to place to place so you appreciate the time you do get he is the face of this event and spectacle and was kind enough to give us a few minutes here after they practiced on Monday why don't we get to that now Connor Bedard of the

Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard here with us a fresh off your first practice here on the ice at Wrigley Field but we have to start with the stick the Sherwood wrecker legend pro the custom-made one here for the winter classic and we're an audio only podcast so describing it does it no good. But I am wondering, like, what are your favorite highlights of it? I just think the creativity. Like, this was not me at all.

I'm not a very creative mind, but they put a lot of time into it, kind of the Chicago skyline sort of thing. And, obviously, Cubs colors. And, you know, obviously it's a cool game we get to play, a special moment, and it's nice that they put something together. Obviously when the game's over I'll be able to keep this stick. It's not all the same sticks. You can see this one and remember what game it was from.

What was it like out there? It was fun, man. It was cool. I feel like I don't really get, like, starstruck is not the word. Obviously not a person, but, like, take it in too much, everything. But today I really did. Like, you know, just walking out here and, you know, seeing the whole venue and everything. It was pretty cool, so I'm excited for the game.

Okay, so I'm more interested in Christmas gifts, and I'm a big fan. Kyle and I are big ice cream guys. So tell us about your Christmas gift and the ice cream that is going to be made out of it. Yeah, it's the Ninja Creamy thing. And my sister got it for me. I remember we were talking about it like five, six months ago. And we thought it was pretty cool.

And she got it. She remembered. So it's pretty funny. And then, yeah, I mean, I was telling you guys, it's like a blender on steroids, so it's pretty sick. I mean, you know, I'm not great with making too much stuff. That makes it easy. Now, is there an ice cream of choice? Like after a meal, what is the Bedard ice cream?

Flavor? I like chocolate, like I'm a pretty big chocolate guy. I mean, I'm not like huge ice cream. Like I'm strict on stuff, I think, but this makes it easy. You can make it pretty healthy and I enjoy the taste, but yeah, I like chocolate. My one piece of advice, sugar-free jello powder, just to add a little bit of thickening to it. It makes the world of a difference. I just want to ask like just the timing of this game for your team and the season it's been, I imagine it's a welcome opportunity just for something totally unique

that you've never done before. Yeah, I mean, for sure. I think with where we are and, you know, obviously frustrating season for our group and, you know, you get a moment like this to really, you know, just enjoy it. And, you know, our families are here and obviously they're getting out on the ice right now to skate and just things like that makes you appreciate everything. And, you know, obviously it's a game. and obviously they're getting out on the ice right now to skate. Just things like that makes you appreciate everything. Obviously, it's a game.

The main goal is to win the game, but it's a little second to step back today and kind of enjoy a cool moment we get to be a part of. Now, were you a baseball guy at all growing up? Did the family ever go to Nat Bailey Stadium for Canadiens games? No, not really, to be honest. I remember the only time I was really into it was that one Blue Jays run with Bautista bat flip. So that's really the only time where I was big into it I think. We talked with Kyle Davidson yesterday and he said something interesting about you.

We asked him if you and him ever talk about players. And he said that you are really in tune with the Blackhawks prospects and junior players. You follow that pretty closely yeah but how much do you check in about the Blackhawks prospects and what do you look out for um I mean honestly just because you get to know them so it's like you're buddies with these guys and um you know now just following them and getting to watch obviously you're you know hoping to be teammates with all of them one day so I think that's pretty cool just to be able to follow those guys and then you know I, I love the Western League,

so I can't get enough of the Western. And obviously I've got a lot of buddies still in the league playing, and, you know, so it's fun to follow. And I think just I love watching NHL too, but, you know, when you watch, you know, junior or anything, there's maybe a little more room out there, and sometimes there's some stuff you see that, you know, might not happen in a

NHL game so it's a lot of fun to watch. You still hate Saskatoon? Yeah, I mean they kind of ended my career there in junior so you know not not the most love for sure but then a couple like my really close buddies went on their team last year so it's kind of cheering for them in the playoffs a little bit is a weird thing cheering for the guys but it's hard to cheer for the team. You're in good bodies with Tanner Howe, too, right? So have you been talking to him at all as he's doing his thing with Canada? Yeah, for sure. I mean, I talk to him a solid amount, kind of check in or just chat, whatever.

Obviously, he got traded for Magina, and I was talking to him a bit after that with going to a new team, and he looks pretty weird in New Jersey, which is funny, but I'm extremely happy for him to make the team. He's obviously having a blast. He deserves it. He's a hell of a player, works super hard, so I'm excited for him. Alright, we're told we're tight for time here, so we really appreciate it. It's a busy day here for you, so enjoy tomorrow, the game, and all the time with family. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it. Eye's a busy day here for you, so enjoy tomorrow, the game, and all the time with family. Yeah, thank you. Appreciate it. Eye black looks great. Yeah, thanks, man. Thank you once again to Conor Bedard and the Blackhawks for parking aside a couple of minutes

for us from Wrigley Field on Monday. The one thing that we ran out of time, we didn't get a chance to ask him about, was the hypothetical shootout with Darren Pang. Oh! I can't believe we forgot that. Well, I thought we did a good interview anyway. Yes. Save that for next time.

If he ever comes on. You should have asked him that because your questions were otherwise terrible. That's right. You were batting 1,000, and I couldn't get anything to stick. So on top of Bedard, we also got, earlier on Monday, some time with Jake Neighbors of the St. Louis Blues, and thankfully Neighbors was incredibly gracious with his time. A player that you and I don't know a ton about, from Calgary,

is still establishing himself in the NHL, but coming off a great season last year. I don't know about you, Elliot, I was really impressed with what he had to say to us. I was too. And I was telling you this after, and it goes for Bedard as well. When I was starting my career and I started to do well, one of the things somebody said to me was one of the biggest challenges you're going to have is when you are old enough to be the father of the players you cover. And I'm now there, like I'm 54 years old, you know, Bedard's 19 and Neighbours is what, 22, 23? So I really do feel that. And so when you do get on a run of good

questions and they are as engaging as Neighbours was here, you really feel like you've accomplished something because I generally sit down with a lot of these players and I'm saying, oh my God, I could be this kid's dad. It's great to hear that you were able to feel young again. It sure did. Great. Jake Neighbors, WHL champion and member of St. Louis Blues. Our conversation with him now. Jake Neighbors of the St. Louis Blues joins us now. Jake, thank you for doing this first off. Where I would love to begin is your holiday break. We were saying just before you came on here, you spent it back in St. Louis with a tight turnaround.

A little tougher for you to get back home to Alberta. So take us through what's kind of become a holiday tradition for you down in St. Louis. Yeah, I spent the last like four years in St. Louis for Christmas. So obviously the older guys with families are great to the younger guys having them over. And I went over to Falker's on Christmas Eve with probably like seven of us young guys that were just kind of alone for the holidays. So he had us all over. And then I always go to Shanner's on the 25th. That's like four years in a row now. So usually he's got his family in town and I've grown pretty, pretty close with them. Our families have.

And so, yeah, it's been a bit of a tradition now, I guess. But yeah, it was a, it was a great break. So tell us, what are the Christmas traditions of the Falks? And what are the Christmas traditions of the Shands? The Falks, I would say the homemade carbonara for food that does he make it no his wife chloe makes it yeah and it's unbelievable it's very good she makes the pasta herself everything so that's pretty unreal and then all i would say like drinking games at the falx is pretty that's usually a staple there so uh we do a little bit of that and then um i'd say the shens is a

lot more relaxed usually uh shen is cooking up cocktails he's a great bartender so um some of that and then uh just opening gifts with his little guys there usually bring something over and we do a little gift opening and they usually get me something which is obviously amazing so yeah it's uh it's been a fun little tradition so what did you get so what did you get what was your gift this year this year i got he got me um a couple of uri uri i don't know how to say that properly you guys know what i'm talking about uri uh shirts and a hoodie and some dress socks so stuff you can't get so basically he's saying that you don't dress well enough on yeah i'm going to take care that's good stuff though that's uh that's a, yeah, it's quality. I wear it all the time. So it's great. So Falk has seven guys over there. Yeah, I think it was, uh, the Joseph brothers PO came back from Pittsburgh

for a couple of days and then, um, Bull Duke, uh, me, uh, Prunovic, uh, Holfer, Holloway, and then, uh, Nathan Walker and his family were there too. Benner came over for a little bit. So, yeah, it was a pretty big gathering. You know what that says to me? It says to me you guys have a pretty tight team. Very tight team, yeah. Like I said, since I've been here, just the culture that the Blues have in general,

and then I think the older guys have done a great job of maintaining it, just being good to young guys, making sure they're not alone for holidays, stuff like that is very important in this organization, and those guys do such a good job of it. Obviously, since I've been here, I lived with Shen for a little bit. A lot of other guys, Prunovic lived with Falk, so they do such a good job of opening up their homes to young guys, making them feel comfortable, and that just obviously ties into chemistry and teams being tight

when you can get your young guys and your old guys kind of gelling together like that. Now, did you have to buy a gift for anyone? Yeah, I usually I'll take Shannon and his wife Kelsey out for like dinner. And that's kind of like my gift for them. I don't really know what else to get them. Where'd you go? We haven't gone yet. Oh, OK.

We've just been on the road so much and obviously here now. So hopefully in January, it's supposed to settle down a little bit, be at home a bit more. So go out for dinner with them. And then, but usually it's just the kids that you buy gifts for.

They appreciate that a lot. So I'll get all the Falk's kids something and Walker's kids, Shenner's kids. So yeah, just get them little things. So when you go out for dinner with Shen and Kelsey, do you worry, like, when he opens up the wine list? Are you starting to grimace? I'll probably sweat a little bit, yeah. I'll probably be a little nervous.

He usually pays for dinner all the time. Wait a second. It's your gift to him. You've got to pay for dinner. I will pay for this one. Okay. Usually he's paying, so i feel like this time now that i'm paying he's gonna run it up a little bit get back at me so where was your rookie

dinner do you remember uh my rookie i actually ended up having two because uh the first one went so poorly but wait wait wait hold on what is that yeah just like the like the skit that the rookies have to do whether it's like you know tell a joke or chirp a vet or whatever it was. We didn't do a very good job of it at our first dinner, which was in Arizona. So that went so poorly. They made us do it again the next year in LA. So who had the poorest performances? I want to know how bad.

I want to know what this is. What was so bad? What were the bits that flopped? We literally stood in front of everybody at the dinner and just like had nothing to say. Like we were just all up there and like they're like, do something, like give us something. And we were just like clueless, like no idea what to say. And it just went really bad. So we got like booed off the stage.

And then the next year we were much more prepared. We had like a poem written and every stanza was chirping a different guy on the team. So we had it like really dialed in in L.A. the next year. But, yeah, the first year was bad, really bad. So who were the guys that all came together that were like, okay, we need to redeem ourselves one year later? Well, it was mostly me and Scott Perunovich. We wrote the poem together.

The other guys might say they did, but they didn't. They didn't do anything. So we were kind of like, we should just get this right so we don't have to do a third one probably. So at that point, that's kind of what we were kind of like, we should just get this right so we don't have to do a third one probably. So at that point, that's kind of what we were thinking. That would be awful if you got made to do a third one. A line of credit's taken a hit already. It's just like the costumes you wear and stuff too.

It's just like you don't want to have to do that again. Who got chirped the hardest in your poem? Honestly, it was pretty even. Everybody got a good goal. It was, uh, definitely wouldn't be something I'd read in public. They were private chirps for sure. Okay. So back to Braden Shen.

I mean, we've heard long about how him and his brother Luke are among the most connected guys with what's going on around the league. So I wonder like for you as a young guy, how much information about what's going on around the NHL has come from conversations with Braden over the years? I mean, pretty much all of it. I think especially in, like, my first couple years living with him through camps and stuff, it was just everything about the league, everything about, you know, investments. Like, he could just go down the list. He has restaurants on the road.

He's got connections everywhere. And we joke around call him scoopsie sometimes he's just like every city that we go to he's got a connection for dinner or whatever you want to do uh even in the summer like if i'm trying to get into a nice restaurant somewhere i just call shenner and he finds a way to just get me in somehow so they're i mean i i know luke a little bit um he's the same yeah i've heard yeah so uh i mean they're, I mean, I know Luke a little bit. He's the same. Yeah, I've heard. Yeah. So, I mean, they're just unbelievable the way they, I think it just like boils down

to like who they are as people and like people just want to be around and want to be associated with them. And I think that just generates great opportunities for them. So. Okay. So then what was like the greatest Braden Shen pull for you? Like where was the moment where he came through in an unbelievable way? we were in Nashville uh two years ago or last year two years ago and uh we were just out for lunch having lunch and I was with a couple other guys and he called me and he's like what

are you doing I'm like I'm just having lunch and he's like you want to go meet Garth Brooks and I was like I'd love to yeah sure and he's like okay Uber to this address. And I met him there and it was Garth's studio. And we went inside and he showed us around. They were actually making some new music. So his guitarist was in there playing a song. We got to listen to that just on the side. And we just sat down on the couch in there and chatted with Garth for 20 minutes and then showed us where he records all his songs and where he explains stories about where some of his most famous songs were recorded in the studio and just how they came about and different things that happened to make the song the way it was. So that was definitely the one I'll remember forever,

meeting Garth. That was pretty cool. What did you ask him? What was the first thing you said to him? I think just like... Hi yeah pretty much I was I mean I was super quiet Shannon does most of the talking in those in those situations but um I remember just like kind of listening I think in those moments like you just got to take it all in and we were talking to him a lot about his shows and um you know how he doesn't charge a lot I think he's one of those

guys that has kept his ticket prices the same for every show forever no matter how big he gets so um and like he was saying something about like he doesn't put his music on apple music or something because of the charges or whatever like he just doesn't believe in people like paying for his music i guess so he's such a good guy like down to earth. And it was just honestly, like it was more about us than it was him. Like he was interested in how our season was going and hockey, our daily lives. So it was a pretty cool conversation for sure. Wow. What was the biggest, like, because I always, whenever you meet greatness, whether it's

greatness in hockey or greatness in music, I always try to take one thing from this person. How can I bring it into my life how can i get better at what i do because of what this person does was there anything you kind of got from him about that i think just like um just realizing like how much hours they put into what they do like as as a hockey player, obviously it's a taxing schedule. Like you're at the rink every day for hours, games, you know, all that to travel. And you would think that, you know, subconsciously that it might be easy to be a musician, but just listening to him and like all the hours he puts into his music. And like, he told us like he would sleep at studios, like when he's in the heat of making music, you know they're just when they get in that zone it's like hours and hours and hours of creation so

I think like that part of it just like the you know even the best that in country music ever is putting in that much effort into his music then and still now it's like that's really inspiring to me and just like kind of goes to show that know, the best are the best for a reason. And they, you know, they put that work in, and obviously they get results. Right. And as an Alberta guy, I'm sure you've stampeded over the time. So imagine, like, how many nights there on the grounds where his music is some way connected to that. I mean, now you're, like, sitting there talking to him. That's got to be unbelievable.

Yeah, it's crazy. Especially, yeah, like, from being from Calgary, the rodeos, stampede, obviously. Country music was just like what I grew up with my dad loved it and um obviously Garth was a big part of that so to meet him was yeah it was a cool day that's awesome yeah now um you were talking about Shannon his advice probably a couple two captains ago was Alice Petrangelo and I heard he was incredible at talking to young players or any player who ever asked about advice, how you should handle your life away from the rink.

And so what was the best advice that Shen gave you about life as a young player now that you're making it in the NHL? I think just like the biggest thing he said was enjoy it. That's the first thing. It's obviously like he said it goes so fast. But I think a lot of it was like getting ahead of the the curve early with you know investments things like that doing the right things with your money or no restaurants i bet yeah no restaurants um but yeah i think just like

little things like that that i wasn't aware of coming into the league and um you know you kind of obviously come in and um start getting paid a good amount of money and you got to do something with it. I think one thing he always talked about is he wished that he knew the things he knew now when he was young so that you can get ahead of it and do more with it. So I think just like that aspect of it from Schenner is like pretty big that I've been learning from him and still am. And, you know, I think it's just so important, obviously, to make sure you're doing the right things with it.

But I think, like, that was something that I just had, like, no clue about coming into the league. And, you know, if I could, like, I would do the same thing. I'm going to do the same thing with young guys that come in when I'm older and, like, just try and teach them because I think it's kind of like a space where you're, like, you just have no clue coming into it and then all of a sudden you have all this money, you don't really know what to do with it.

So I think it's just important to like kind of learn that side of things. And there's obviously some really good things you can do with it that set you up, you know, down the line and your kids, your kids, kids. So I think that part's like pretty important to me. Do you have an off ice passion project? Like something that when you're not working on hockey, you're like, this is my thing. This is what I want to do. i'm actually like kind of in a search for it right now i'm like trying to find like a little hobby to something to do but at the moment no um i'm learning like i learned sign

language so nice um my best friend's aussie wise body plays for the milwaukee right and um he's with nashville and then uh there's a younger one Oasis Weisblatt he's captain of Medicine Hat Tigers so and the other two actually played hockey as well they're not playing anymore but their parents are deaf and so I I remember the story like when I we went to high school together I would always drive Ozzy around and I dropped him off at home one day and he was he told me to say so I wanted to say something to his mom but I didn't know how to sign it and he I was like okay how do you say it I can't forget what it was and he told he told me that I said something that I didn't say I said something completely different and

her jaw just dropped so it was inappropriate yeah and her jaw just dropped and she looked at me and I was like what did I just say and uh and so from that point on I looked at him I was like you have to teach me sign language because that is never happening again so I that's something that I'm kind of like flirting with a little bit I'm trying to get better at it but it's hard like it's hard to pick up so gosh and your heart's in such the right place too and your friend is totally submarines yeah you know there's an obvious follow-up here do you know what you actually said to her? Yeah, I do. But we're not repeating it. Can't say it. Well, you know what?

As Kyle said, the key is that you tried. Like, that's the thing. You tried to do the right thing. Yeah, exactly. That's fantastic. How's he enjoying Nashville? Does he like it there? He loves it.

Yeah. He loves it there. Well, obviously, he met, like, Luke in camp, Shen. So I kind of tipped shenner off and said hey tell your brother to go say hi so uh he knows luke a little bit um obviously the o'reillys he plays with o'reilly's brother yeah cal walking cal yeah so hangs out with him a lot and his kids and like i think he just loved it like san jose was um a bit difficult for him for a couple years there and he just needed a change of scenery and he's loving it there so far he's been playing really well for them and you know hopefully gets a call up soon or

something but yeah he's been loving it there so nice how often are you able to stay in touch with like buddies that you played with growing up uh now who are still playing elsewhere like you won a whl championship there in edmonton imagine you've got connections for life with that group like how often are you able to stay in touch with guys that uh had big uh parts of your life when you were younger well i think it's it's easier with social media and stuff nowadays it's easier to reach out and um you know whether you comment on a guy's story or whatever and just have a quick chat with them um i would i will say that i'm pretty bad at it i'm like tough at like it's hard not hard but i just forget to reach out and you know you're so busy or whatever

it is. So, but, I mean, in saying that, there's so many guys from that Edmonton team that I still talk to. A lot of them, a couple of them I see playing them throughout the year, and a lot of them are still playing overseas or in the American League. So, you know, keeping tabs on them and seeing how they're doing and stuff like that and reaching out every once in a while. Our group chat's still pretty active, you know know talking to each other every once in a while

sending memories in and whatnot so um but i think like yeah guys from the edmonton team the wise brothers um those are kind of like my main guys that i have a couple other buddies at home that you know i used to play junior against and stuff that don't play anymore or go to school so um try and keep in touch as best i can but like I said I'm not the best at it so yeah now let's talk about your NHL life what was your moment where I don't know maybe it was your first warm-up or you first lined up against someone where you looked up and you said holy cow like this is real yeah i i mean my first nhl game i remember uh it was in colorado against mckinnon rantan and mccarr so that was a pretty eye-opening experience right away did you get caught out against them uh i think i did on an icing i was i was on the fourth line and we iced

the puck and they came over the boards and i just remember like get this thing out of the zone get off the ice as fast as you can. I'm sorry, I forgot. Who was coaching him? Were they yelling change, change? Yeah, it was Chief at the time. He was probably yelling at me to get off for sure. But, yeah, I think just, like, the speed that those guys play the game at and the way they play the game was just different. Obviously, you watch it on TV, but seeing it from the bench

and just watching them, like, the way they move and snap the puck around and, like, I was like, yeah, this is the NHL. Like, this is as good as it gets. And I think, like, one of the bigger things, too, was, like, being on the fourth line playing against other fourth lines, like you realize that every line can play hockey. Like, in junior, you know, the bottom two lines are kind of, like, iffy. There's some guys that obviously aren't going to move on past juniors. So, you know, the talent, you get that matchup as a first liner when you're 19,

you're just licking your chops, like getting out there against those guys. But I think in this, like in the NHL, it doesn't matter who you're playing against. Everybody can play, and everybody's so talented in one way or another. So I think that was a pretty something I realized quick too. Well, it's funny you mentioned that because I remember in 2022 when you're playing in the final against Seattle at the same time Colorado's playing Edmonton in the conference final and so obviously you're playing out of the same building in Edmonton and I remember I think it was a couple of would have been Thunderbird

players walking out I don't know if they just had a practice or whatever and the Avalanche were wrapping up their skate and they walked by McKinnon you can even see on their faces it was like oh my god like that's Nathan McKinnon over there when you just think about as you say for some players at that level like they're essentially one step away or two from the NHL and still there's that awe about a player of his caliber so it's fascinating your first game was against that same team yeah yeah for sure I think like being in Edmonton too being around that all the time you kind of get numb to it a for sure. I think being in Edmonton too, being around that all the time, you kind of get numb to it a little bit, which I think actually helped in the long run.

But just being around, not being around them, but seeing them at the rink, watching their practices, McDavid, Dreisaitl, just seeing, you know, just even walking by them in the hall and just saying what's up or whatever, I think that was something that was really cool about playing in Edmonton, is just being around the Oilers and getting that experience as a 16-year-old kid. NHL locker room across the way from yours and just seeing them go about their days was pretty cool.

I think it helped us, well, me and a lot of us on that team kind of take the next step. Were you guys told you could say hi to guys or chat with guys like mcdavin dresler was it told like no that's their room and you respect their space it was never really there's never really anything said about it it was kind of just like that locker room's so big that it's like they don't need to come out of it so everything you know what i mean like everything they need is in that locker room so like they're not coming outside very often but

um i think even like to the parking garage where we parked um they had their own stairs in their room so like they literally don't have to come out of there if they don't want to but sometimes you're like warming up in the loading docks playing soccer or whatever and you know they'll walk out to practice and they were great like they would always say hi to us and ask us how our season's going and stuff like that like they're really good to us so i think that was a like i said really cool part about playing in edmonton for sure i was hoping you'd say something like uh you know drysaddle completely ignored our presence or something like that that would be a funnier story yeah maybe when they were struggling a little bit sometimes

and they were winning they'd say hi so last year 27 goal season and you know really like i remember mark massing i once said to him, like, when did you really feel that you arrived in the NHL? And he said, I never tried to feel that. Like, I never wanted to be comfortable. But after a season like that one, Jake, does any part of you say, okay, like, I've established myself here. I've got a role here.

I'm an NHLer now. Yeah, for sure. I think just coming in the year last year the year before I was up and down a lot and you know it wasn't playing my best that I thought I could at least in the NHL and and then just last year kind of coming into camp like wasn't even guaranteed that I was going to be on the team and where I was going to be in the lineup and kind of started lower in the lineup and just, you know, grinded, worked hard and got an opportunity at some point in the season

and got put with Bucinavich and Thomas and just kind of went on a bit of a heater and never really looked back. And I think last year it was kind of a blur, like it was just all happening in the moment and you're just trying to ride the high, I guess, and kind of coming into this year just a lot more confident in that feeling that, you know, the high, I guess. And kind of coming into this year, just a lot more confident

and that feeling that, you know, you belong, I would say, is kind of the feeling you get. I would agree with what Messier said. You never want to feel complacent at any point because I think once you establish yourself as a player, it only gets harder to keep doing what you're doing. I think last year maybe I snuck up on guys. Nobody really knew who I was.

And now you kind of have a bit of a reputation. Do you see it? Like they're doing. I think last year maybe I snuck up on guys. Nobody really knew who I was. And now you kind of have a bit of a reputation. Do you see it? Like they're watching. For sure. Yeah. Last year was way easier to get to the net. This year I'm getting boxed out a lot sooner. And it's like more of a noted thing, I feel like.

But, yeah, I think that's just the league. You guys get a book on you and your tendencies and what you're good at, and they try and take that away so for me it's been you know it's been fun but still trying to you know improve I'm still only 22 and I want to play in this league for a long time and be really good and and accomplish a lot of things and can't do that if you're just you know happy with one one decent season so yeah well I wonder what the challenge has been like you know trying to go through all of that and establishing yourself at the same time I mean you've played for three different head coaches over the last two years while also trying to do all that so what's that

been like yeah it's it's obviously difficult not something you want to experience but um you know I think just the biggest thing is is gaining their trust and their respect and I think as a young player that can be hard to do and um but yeah that you got to go about it the right way I think all of our coaches have been fantastic to me Chief was great Manny was great and Monty's been fantastic so far so um you know I've been lucky I think you learn different things from all different coaches which can help you and in the long run and um you know it's obviously not something we're proud of as a team, but I think we're trending in the right direction now. And, yeah, it's good. We like Monty a lot.

He's a pretty caustic guy. There's no filter there. No, no. He's a straight shooter. He says it how it is, and I think it's great that way. We like that. Who is the straighter shooter, Berube or Montgomery? That's tough, man.

I'm pretty sure they're like friends, right? They're like best friends, so they're pretty similar. But I don't know. I think Chief would have a bit of a meaner way of saying it maybe. And Monty tries to – he'll start with the nice way of saying it. If you don't listen, then he gets a little more mean. But I think Chief kind of skipped right to the yelling. But I like that stuff so

I was good I appreciated it well one thing we hear about Montgomery is that he's got you know real care for his players like what's it been like getting to know him yeah it's been awesome um he's I think that's a great way to describe him he loves his players and and uh you know cares for us a lot wants us to be you know having fun at the rink. And also, like, he's so important about or he's very enthusiastic about, like, spending time with our families and, you know, making sure we're doing those things away from the rink that keep you happy and make sure your life's great and stuff. So he takes care of us really good. You know, he walks around the room and he's cracking jokes and um having conversation with guys all the time and um you know so it's kind of been a smooth transition and obviously he was here before so a lot of us have had relationships with him already and i think

especially as an assistant coach you build a real personal relationship so i think a lot of guys are really comfortable with him and he's comfortable with us and it's just kind of made it really easy you know a lot of coaches don't like going into the room is he there more than any other coach you've had then uh yeah i would say so like he's just kind of bombing around and peeking and poking his head in little places hey coach get out yeah so he's always he's always walking around saying hi trying to you know get this you know he wants he's like one of the boys he just wants to know what happened the night before or whatever so um how our day days off are so he's like one of the boys. He just wants to know what happened the night before or whatever, so how our days off are. So he's always bombing around, having conversations with us

and just kind of shooting it. So I didn't realize this until we chatted before, but St. Louis doesn't use the roommates now for guys on entry-level contracts. So my question is, who are you happiest that you don't have to room with because St. Louis doesn't do this? I'd probably say, it's a tough one i would say maybe hofer i don't i wouldn't room with him anyway because he's off his entry level now but last year we might have so yeah i'll say him i we actually lived together last year in st louis and he's just like i love the guy to death but he's just like

we're the opposites you know like he's i try to keep things tidy a little bit and he doesn't care at all. And he's a messy guy. Yeah. And, uh, and he's just like slow. Like everything he does is at slow pace. Like he talks slow, he walks slow. It's like, I say, we're leaving at nine 30. We're not out of the door until nine 36, like little stuff like that drives me nuts. And he's just so nonchalant like doesn't really care for a couple minutes late so just like that like conflict of um priorities i guess was a little bit of a but we had so much fun like i love them but i don't know anybody like that yeah i was gonna say it was a good thing you know him as a roommate he wouldn't get anywhere now what no terms of like the clutter because i imagine there's certain things everyone can live with but what are the areas that like really grind your gears where

you're like this cannot be out of place for me um being on time is number one for me like i just i hate if we say we're leaving at a time we're leaving at that time if we want to get to the rink at this time we're getting there at that time like and so that that is really important for me um i would say definitely like cleanliness like i'm not like a clean freak like i don't i'm not like spotless but but there are standards just a little keep it decent you know like in case someone pops in you know like if shenner came by with hawks like we don't want our house like a absolute pig stock so um, you know, like stuff like that. I think like those two are probably my biggest for sure, yeah.

Okay, great. So Cam Fowler comes into the fold, like nine games away of 1,000. He'll play 1,000 tomorrow at the Winter Classic. So I wonder like now are you guys, you've just become teammates with him, are you on the hook for the gift now for 1,000 games, or how does that all work? Oh, for sure, yeah. We're getting him something.

Yeah, I think we got a little something planned. Nice. He's been fantastic. We love him so much already. He just fit into our group so well. So, yeah, we're definitely going to get him something, and, you know, it's going to be cool, man. I don't know, 1,000 games in a Winter Classic,

that's a pretty special day. So it's going to be exciting. We're really excited for him. And like I said, he's fit in so well. And it's like the exact piece we were missing. So, yeah, it was great having him here. I assume this is your first outdoor game at any level, right? Yeah.

Did you play, did you have outdoor rings when you were younger? Oh, yeah. Yeah, I was raised on them. I spent so many hours on them. I had a family friend, Pat Seeley. He would make an outdoor rink in his backyard, and it was pretty much the size of a normal rink, a little bit smaller.

And he built his own Zamboni and did the whole works. He had Christmas lights so you could play until midnight if you wanted to. And I remember on New Year's we would go there every year and we would get on the rink on the 31st at like 10 in the morning and we'd skate till like 2 and then we'd go inside with our skates still on skate guards on eat lunch go back out on the rink till like 7 come in eat dinner like watch the world junior game and then when the world junior game was over we'd be on the rink from like 10 30 till like 1 a.m so that's where you celebrate your new year yeah

everybody would come out to the rink and we would celebrate out there like it was fantastic like this is so cool like i'm so excited to play on outdoor rink just so many memories as a kid doing it so are you a baseball fan at all yeah yeah i am jays yeah i like the jays and then the cards just because right yes did you go to any Okotoks dogs games growing up? I actually didn't. I have a lot of friends that would go all the time, actually, but I never made it to any dogs games. Okay.

Yeah. Great ballpark down there. Now, so we're taping this Monday morning. The players went to the Wrigley in the morning. Yeah. So what was your sense taking in the sights? And for those that will see it when the game happens on Tuesday, but the walk from the room to the rink, it's a bit of a jaunt yeah i mean the the setup looks amazing

um just like jaw-dropping i walked in i was like i can't believe we're gonna play a hockey game in here like it's just so cool so i think they've done a great job with it the walk it is a hike and there's like there's got to be like 40 steps to get up to our, to our locker room. Like, Oh, so you got to go upstairs. Yeah.

It's like, Oh yeah. You're like, there's probably three, three, four flights of like 15 stairs. You got to go up to get into the dressing room. So it's going to be interesting.

Like I bet you it's like a good three minute walk at least from the rink getting up to the locker room. So it's going to be a bit of a hike, a little bit of an extra workout in between the in the periods but um i mean we'll take we'll take whatever we can get it's gonna look good in those sweaters though yeah they're good looking sweaters they're unreal now you got 11 people coming in for this one yeah yeah i got dad uh two brothers um one of their buddies and his wife. And then I have one of my best friends, Cole Snyder, who plays football in Division I at Delaware. He's an offensive lineman, big boy.

So, yeah, we grew up, went to high school together. And then my girlfriends come in and my mom and my stepdad. So, yeah, I think it adds up to about 11 of us. Enjoy it. Thanks very much for your time, Jake. Yeah, it was fun. Thank you Thanks very much for your time, Jake. We really appreciate it. Yeah, it was fun. Thank you, guys.

Great. Thanks, Jake. So thanks again to Jake and Dan O'Neill of the St. Louis Blues for making that happen for us. But what was interesting, Elliot, after that interview was done, we bumped into Braden Shen, the captain of the Blues,

and he added to what was a terrific story that Jake told about getting to meet Garth Brooks in Nashville. First of all, we should mention that Shen said that that whole meeting was set up by Kelly Chase. Yes. And we should mention Kelly Chase, who we did a couple weeks ago on the pod, and Kelly, who loves hockey as much as anyone, is foremost in everyone's thoughts right now. But he said that when Garth Brooks introduced himself to Jake Neighbors,

he said, I'm Garth Brooks. And obviously starstruck, young, blue, said, I know. That's right. And then he didn't say anything else. And then Garth was like, you got a name, kid? So we were howling when Brayden shared that one. And it's totally innocent. You could see something like that happening, right?

Of course, of course. How could you blame him? I don't know if I would be any different. Again, as an Alberta guy that grew up listening to country music and now you're standing in front of Garth Brooks, I would be as frozen as any. I mean, you can totally understand it, how you would completely jaw drop

as you're talking to Garth Brooks and forget to communicate. The only similar situation I can remember is I was at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2001, and it was in Seattle. And I was standing next to the dugout with my lanyard on, dug out with my lanyard on and I get a tap and I turn and it was Vanessa Williams oh wow and she looks at me and she goes these people want me to sign autographs for them I don't know where I'm supposed to go and I completely got tongue-tied I couldn't even even speak. I was like, blah, blah, blah. And I said, I'm sorry, I don't work here. I'm a media member. She's like,

oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. And I'm like, no problem. So Jake Neighbors to do that to Garth Brooks, I completely did that with Vanessa Williams. I couldn't even remember what language I was supposed to communicate in. I get it.

That happens on the pod from time to time too still. That's true. But I have to say, I didn't really know Jake Neighbors. I mean, obviously I know him as a player. I didn't really know him personally. Guy is a good talker and a good storyteller. Yeah, and though they're still trying to

find more consistent results, or St. Louis, you can tell there's a pretty neat group there and a tight-knit group as well of players. So we wanted to get this pod out. I know it's a bit away from our usual schedule, but we wanted to get it out while the interviews were still timely and both Bedard and Neighbours were very good with their time with us here. So once again, the Winter Classic, you can see it on Sportsnet,

5 o'clock Eastern to Pacific later on today. Hopefully weather isn't too much of an issue here. We could see some rain in the morning, but we are hopeful that it clears off by the time we get closer to puck drop. So enjoy that, Elliot. Happy New Year to all our great 32 Thoughts listeners. Hope you have a great celebration and entrance into 2025. And once again, we will talk to you in the new year.